Bare-chests and boycott in UP Budget session

It was a free-for all at Uttar Pradesh Assembky, with two Rashtriya Lok Dal MLAs stripping off their shirts even as Governor B.L. Joshi shortened his address to the joint sitting of the State Legislature. The speech was drowned in din following the ruckus created by the Opposition members on the opening day of the Budget session on Wednesday.

As pandemonium prevailed, Mr. Joshi left the House after reading the opening and concluding parts of his address.

The Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs were absent as they had decided on Tuesday to boycott the Governor’s address. The short Budget session also marked the first session of 2014.

When the Governor ascended the podium to deliver his address, the Bahujan Samaj Party, Congress, RLD and Apna Dal MLAs rose to protest against the poor performance of the Samajwadi Party Government.

The Opposition MLAs jumoed about waving banners and placards blaming the Government for “anti-farmer policies, goonda raj, loot, dacoity and murders” and demanding a better deal for the cane farmers. They also raised anti-Government slogans. The BSP MLAs stood on their chairs and later breached the Well of the House demanding the dismissal of the Government.

Amid the furore, two RLD members, Vir Pal Singh Rathi and Sudesh Sharma, took off their “kurtas” and waistcoats and climbed on the seats to register their protest. While Rathi was showed off his bare chest, Sharma had on innerewear. They were ‘protesting’ about the sugarcane farmers of their area not being paid their dues to also about workers of a closed cotton mill in Modinagar.

When the House re-assembled after the Governor’s departure, Leader of Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya objected to the Speaker, Mata Prasad Pandey reading out the Governor’s address to the House when the Governor had not read his address. (It is only after the Governor’s address is read out by the Speaker that it becomes part of the House proceedings). Referring to the RLD members’ form of protest, the BJP leader, Hukum Singh, said the House had witnessed an unprecedented scene with some members going half-naked ( “ardh nang” )

Mr. Singh said he expected the Parliamentary Affairs Minister ( Mohammad Azam Khan ) to ask the members to put on their clothing and restore order.

The Leader of Opposition said that though the manner in which the RLD MLAs protested was not appropriate, their intention was to bring the plight of the cane farmers to the notice of the Governor and the Government. However, the Governor’s address was read out by Mr. Pandey even as the BSP MLAs stood up in protest and entered the Well.

Later, Mr. Rathi ( RLD MLA from Chhaprauli) and Mr. Sharma ( RLD MLA from Modinagar ) claimed that the cane price dues to the growers have not been paid for two years and the Government had failed to restart the cotton mill in Modinagar lying closed for about 25 years despite the Chief Minister’s assurance. The Modinagar MLA added that about 20,000 workers had been laid off.